Author: Paris Marx, Jacob Silverman

Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire’s Islamophobic attack on Zohran Mamdani, what it tells us about the state of tech’s politics, and how Donald Trump is enriching himself through crypto scams.

Jacob Silverman is a journalist and the author of the forthcoming book Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Jacob has reported on the Aqua 1 Foundation’s mysterious crypto deal that puts $75 million dollars in Donald Trumps pocket.
• Trump signed the GENIUS Act last week, which aims to make crypto more mainstream and is widely viewed as openly corrupt. Trump has already made millions of dollars from crypto.
• Crypto is coming for the US 401k.

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Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss all the money Elon Musk is pouring into the US election and what Silicon Valley’s political influence will mean regardless of who becomes president.

Jacob Silverman is the author of Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley, coming in September 2025 from Bloomsbury. His book Easy Money is now available in paperback.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• The New York Times reported on Elon Musk’s efforts to get Trump elected in the final two weeks of the campaign.
• The Pennsylvania district attorney sued Elon Musk’s PAC to stop his $1 million giveaways.
• Marc Andreessen wrote the Techno-Optimist Manifesto and the Little Tech Agenda.
• FTX was up to way more shady things that didn’t make it into the first trial of Sam Bankman-Fried. The second didn’t go ahead after he was found guilty in the first.
• The canvassing operation for Trump by Elon Musk's PAC has been flagged as potentially fraudulent.
• The US Supreme Court’s Chevron decision will have significant consequences for federal regulators.

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Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss why tech billionaires have become more supportive of  Donald Trump in the upcoming US election and whether Kamala Harris’ candidacy will disrupt their plans.

Jacob Silverman is the co-author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud and is working on a new book called Gilded Rage that is scheduled for Fall 2025.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Jacob wrote about Silicon Valley’s embrace of Trump for The Nation.
• Paris wrote about what Silicon Valley wants from Trump in Disconnect.
• Molly White’s new project is called Follow the Crypto.
• Elon Musk is reportedly committing $45 million a month to a pro-Trump Super PAC.
• Mark Zuckerberg called Trump a badass, while saying he won’t endorse any candidate.
• Eric Schmidt is pushing the Pentagon’s embrace of AI for war.
• Peter Thiel says he’d vote for Trump this cycle if there was a gun to his head.
• Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz wrote a Little Tech Agenda containing a basic policy program.
• Reid Hoffman funded a disinformation campaign in Alabama.
• Reed Hastings has already put $7 million into a pro-Kamala Super PAC.

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Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss the motivations behind the proposed TikTok ban and what the effort tells us about US tech policy.

Jacob Silverman is a tech journalist and the co-author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Paris will be speaking in Montreal on March 23 and March 26.
• Jacob wrote about the GOP megadonor who could benefit from whatever happens to TikTok.
• Paris wrote about the geopolitics of the TikTok ban and what it says about US power.
• Taylor Lorenz broke down some of the disputed claims being made about TikTok.
• Sam Biddle wrote about how Facebook knows they violated Palestinian human rights.
• Byron Tau explained how US government agencies are getting people’s personal data from data brokers.

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Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, why he was found guilty, and how his negative traits are common across Silicon Valley.
 
Jacob Silverman is a journalist and the co-author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud. He’s also the host of The Naked Emperor. Find more of Jacob’s work on jacobsilverman.com.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Jacob recently wrote about the Sam Bankman-Fried trial for Air Mail, The Nation, and his newsletter.
• Elizabeth Holmes reported to prison in May for an 11-year sentence for swindling investors in Theranos.
• Sam Bankman-Fried is facing further charges in a second trial scheduled for March 11. He’s also due to be sentenced for the guilty charges in the first trial on March 28.
• Caroline Ellison revealed the leaked balance sheet that ultimately tanked FTX and Alameda was one of seven fakes made at the behest of Bankman-Fried.
• Max Chafkin and Hannah Miller wrote about the role of Bankman-Fried’s parents in Bloomberg Businessweek.
• Binance is in crisis in the face of a serious Department of Justice investigation.

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Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss the start of the criminal trial against Sam Bankman-Fried, what we know about the case, and whether he’s likely to be found guilty.
 
Jacob Silverman is a journalist and the co-author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud. He’s also the host of The Naked Emperor. Find more of Jacob’s work on jacobsilverman.com.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Jacob wrote about the trial on his newsletter.
• Molly White has also written a preview of what’s to come in the Bankman-Fried trial.
• Sam Bankman-Fried leaked Caroline Ellison’s diaries to the New York Times. Soon after, his bail was revoked and he was sent to prison for over witness tampering.
• Sam Bankman-Fried was interviewed by Matt Levine on Odd Lots and basically admitted yield farming was a Ponzi scheme.
• Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh have all pleaded guilty and are expected to be collaborating with the government against Bankman-Fried.
• Bankman-Fried’s parents are also being sued over the millions they got from FTX.

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Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss how the right-wing of the tech industry are funding media platforms like Rumble to reshape the political discourse and why they’re helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. challenge Joe Biden.
 
Jacob Silverman is a journalist and the co-author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud. He’s also the host of The Naked Emperor on CBC Podcasts. You can check out Jacob’s Substack.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Jacob wrote about Rumble as a MAGA platform, why tech is boosting Robert F. Kennedy Jr., revolutionary war reenactors getting caught up in Facebook’s purge of militia groups, and David Sacks.
• Mark Zuckerberg chose to go easy on Alex Jones and other right-wing figures on Facebook.
• Trump Media may be going public via a SPAC merger.
• Darren Blanton was involved in a scheme to keep Black voters from the polls.
• Wendy Siegelman put together a chart of the connections between Rumble, Trump Media, and other groups.
• Rumble went public via SPAC in 2022.
• Brandy Zadrozny wrote about RFK Jr. and his views for NBC News.

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Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, how it’s part of a larger crisis in the tech sector, and why it’s turning people against the industry’s venture capitalists.

Jacob Silverman is a journalist and the host of The Naked Emperor, a new CBC podcast. Follow Jacob on Twitter at @SilvermanJacob.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Jacob wrote about the lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in the Globe and Mail.
• Paris wrote about how the SVB collapse should be a radicalizing moment against venture capitalists.
• A video circulated about Jason Calacanis bragging about SVB offering him favorable banking services.
• A screenshot shows a founder complaining about Chase closing his bank account because his company doesn’t have a physical office, saying SVB never required one.
• Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund told its portfolio companies to pull their money out of SVB before its collapse.
• SVB’s President pushed for Congress to reduce regulations and oversight on banks like SVB as it grew.

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Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, the politics of the PayPal Mafia tech billionaires, and how they’re trying to reshape US political discourse to serve themselves.

Jacob Silverman is a journalist who writes for The New Republic, The Baffler, Slate, and many others. He’s also the co-author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud with Ben McKenzie. Follow Jacob on Twitter at @SilvermanJacob.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Jacob wrote about Musk’s Twitter acquisition for The Baffler and the politics of David Sacks and these other tech billionaires for The New Republic.
• Paris wrote about Musk’s Twitter acquisition for NBC News and Marc Andreessen’s housing politics for Business Insider.
• The Delaware court case revealed text messages between Elon Musk and all the people trying to gain his favor.
• Saudi Arabia had an intelligence operation running through Twitter, which led some former employees to be charged with spying. Saudi Arabia has imprisoned people over their tweets.
• There were accusations that Twitter had an Indian official associated with the far-right Modi government on payroll.
• Banks are expecting to suffer major losses on the loans provided to Musk to acquire Twitter.
• The LA Times reported that Twitter bots helped build the cult of Musk.
• In 2016, Thiel and Sacks’ Diversity Myth comments were resurrected and Thiel has to issue a statement.

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As the podcast celebrates episode 100, Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss the huge drop in crypto prices, the coming threat (to crypto) of interest rate hikes and regulation, the human impact of crypto schemes, and where things may be going next.

Jacob Silverman is a staff writer at The New Republic and writes about crypto with the actor Ben McKenzie. Follow Jacob on Twitter at @SilvermanJacob.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Jacob and Ben McKenzie wrote about Tether. Zeke Faux also wrote an essential article on the stablecoin, and Jacob recommends Crypto Critics Corner.
• Crypto prices have plunged, and that’s hurt regular people.
• New York’s Attorney General reached a settlement with Tether last year.
• VC firm Andreessen Horowitz is making a big lobbying push in Washington, DC to get favorable crypto regulations.
• Matt Damon and Spike Lee are among the celebrities to take crypto money and help pump the industry.
• US regulators are looking at crypto regulations, and Biden administration is planning an executive order to move it forward.
• China banned crypto mining, Russia proposed a ban on crypto, and many countries have suffered power outages due to crypto mining.
• Stephen Diehl wrote explained how crypto is about arbitraging securities regulation.
• Diane Jeantet wrote about a massive series of Bitcoin pyramid schemes in Brazil.

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